PHOTO: RichieC, Creative Commons I saw Joe Biden once, back in 2008, at a U.S. Senate hearing he chaired on the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. With only a few senators present, Biden appeared as thoughtful and engaged as I expect career politicians can be. He didn’t strike me as willing to throw in his lot […]

If you haven’t seen the video coverage of Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) grilling the drug czar’s chief deputy Michael Botticelli at Tuesday’s House Oversight Committee Hearing on marijuana policy, you should. The lines of questioning are similar to Rep. Cohen’s questioning last year of DEA Director […]

PHOTO: Diane Fornbacher/Ladybud Magazine There is no greater symptom of America’s failed war on some drugs than the continued prohibition of cannabis. With approximately 1:7 Americans illegally using the sacred herb (1:4 young people between the age of 15-25), no other greater impetus for law enforcement to invade citizens’ private spaces than in pursuit of […]

Growing up, I remember hearing my mom’s mantra of “words matter,” followed by “but, Mija, as important as what you say, is what you do.” She said it repeatedly, just as I said it to my son when he was growing up. One of my favorite quotes is “the road to hell is paved with […]